All forums, even vote-based ones like Reddit and HN, devolve into echo chambers where any dissenting opinion is buried before many even get to see it.
May I differ. Technology was never meant to cure human ills. The tragedy is that technology was supposed to enhance human capabilities but instead stymied them. This is the difference between IA (intelligence amplification) in which technology is a bicycle, and AI (artificial intelligence) in which it is a crutch.
Why technology has its iatrogenic effect is a great question of our time. Does it always? Or are we uniquely misusing it?
With regard to amplifying shame, it merely acts as it does to amplify any human sentiments and ideas.
Technology giveth, and technology taketh away (Postman).
The echo chamber effect of these platforms is often called out as a bad thing, but in my opinion it may also be useful as a way of nurturing ideas that would’ve otherwise been squashed early because they’re too contrarian. The problem is, you can only find out whether an idea is good or not by exposing it to an increasingly large audience. And then I guess there’s the risk of allowing “dangerous” ideas to gain such a large following that they’re hard to stop.
AKA the Toaster Fucker Problem!